(a) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a method for burying a conductive mesh in a transparent electrode, and more particularly, to a method which prevents a conductive mesh from protruding from a transparent electrode by burying the conductive mesh in the transparent electrode.
(b) Description of the Related Art
Generally, a transparent conductive film is used for plasma display panels (PDPs), liquid crystal displays (LCDs), light emitting diodes (LEDs), organic electroluminescent devices (OLEDs), touch panels, solar cells, etc.
Because the transparent electrode has high conductivity and high transmittance in the visible light range, it may be used as the electrode of not only solar cells, LCDs and PDPs but also of various light-receiving devices and light-emitting devices, and as well, as a transparent electromagnetic wave shield, including an antistatic film or an electromagnetic wave shielding film, for use in automobile window glass or building window glass, and a transparent heat generator for a heat reflection film or a freezing showcase.
As the above-described transparent electrode, ITO is widely used.
Although ITO, having superior general properties, is mainly applied to the process to date, indium oxide (In2O3) is produced as a by-product in a zinc (Zn) mine, and problems of instable supply and unmet demand arise.
Further, the ITO film is not flexible and thus cannot be used as a flexible material for a polymer substrate, and furthermore, because it is manufactured under conditions of high temperature and high pressure, the production cost thereof is undesirably high.
To solve this problem, as shown in FIG. 1, techniques for forming a conductive material in a mesh form (hereinafter, referred to as a conductive mesh) M on an organic polymer electrode (hereinafter, referred to as a transparent electrode) 10 by printing or coating are proposed.
However, the above-described conductive mesh M according to a conventional method is formed to protrude on the upper surface of the transparent electrode 10, and its protruding height is not uniform.
Due to this, the contact performance of the transparent electrode 10 is deteriorated, and the conductive mesh M is separated from the transparent electrode 10.
The above information disclosed in this Background section is only for enhancement of understanding of the background of the invention and therefore it may contain information that does not form the prior art that is already known in this country to a person of ordinary skill in the art.